The other day my 9 year old daughter and I were coming home from Bible study and as I drove down the road ‘This Christmas’ was playing and I began to tell her… I remember when I was a little girl I would dash to the radio each time this song would come on. “For what,” nonchalantly said my daughter. “Well as you know I wasn’t as fortunate as you to have married parents. My mom and dad ‘were divorced,’ jointly said by my daughter. I stopped at a red light and looked back in the rear view mirror, laughing saying, “Hush your little mouth.” “So why did you rush for this song, what’s so great about it, mom?” I commenced telling her the story as I a proceeded down the road. Well, because my parents were divorced, I would sit and listen to the song and dream that my imaginary family was sitting around the fire place singing Christmas carols, with presents and my world being filled with cheer.
As we got out the car she said to me with her big starry eyes, “I am happy to have you for Christmas mom.” I am happy to have you, as I urged her to get out the car. A few days later she told me about one of her classmates. She said, “mom I have a friend at school and she came to class crying because her parents got a divorced.” My heart dropped imagining the pain her friend felt. As I began to speak, “I know how she feels,” my daughter interrupted saying yes, I know and I told her that you used to make believe your family sitting around the fire place after your parents got a divorced. She told me her friend was so sad walking away with her head dropped to the floor.
As I ponder my mind is captured by God’s mercy. Luke 1:78-79 says, “With the loving mercy of our God, a new day from heaven will dawn upon us. It will shine on those who live in darkness, in the shadow of death. It will guide us into the path of peace."
This scripture is saying God has a desire to help and will help the miserable and afflicted. It continues to say a new day from heaven will dawn upon us; the rising of the sun (Christ) will look after the afflicted; shining light to those who dwell in misery. Through Christ reflecting light we will be able to see our journey to peace. We will then be lead to a path way of safety and prosperity.
Christmas is a time to share the love of Christ but what do we do if we feel the love of our life has left? Perhaps you feel all alone, as if you are in the dark. Are you in misery from a divorce, a death in your family, loss of a house or loss of a job? Is your spirit low? When we find our self consumed by pain, the throbbing circumstance in our life, our heavenly Father desires to help us by His grace. Only peace from God can restore the shattered spirit we have and make things secure and prosperous.
Consider not imagining love and share the love of Christ to others? Pray to God to help you revise a list to give His Spirit of love to others. Ask God to help narrow your thoughts to the sacrifice of Christ. Call upon the Lord to give you strength and remind you how nothing or no one is bigger than our Lord. God desires to heal our brokenness for “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds,” Psalm 147:3.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Remember Your First Love
When I was a young teen I liked being in the choir. My first choir director in middle school was fun, stern and loving. She would challenge me do things I never expected myself to do. I remember the first time she told me to sing a solo. I told her, “no one wants to hear me sing.” I went to high school dedicated in the choir but this choir director would take us to churches to sing. I would get chills when we sang not knowing the presence of the Spirit. I stayed in choir year after year getting chills never knowing His presence but I loved it.
I would look around at my peers wondering, “Do they feel what I feel?” I would say, “I am cold” and they would laugh saying, “it is hot.” The day came that the choir director would appoint me to sing a solo and again thinking to myself “no one wants to hear me.”
I sang Till We Meet Again and a rush of chills consumed my body at the age of 17, still not knowing His presence. I thought, I can’t do this, I can’t even control myself. I went to college singing, still not knowing His presence. As an adult after many years of being removed from singing, I attempted to join the choir and tears flowed as a river. I knew His presence and I welcomed it but still couldn’t control my emotions.
Reminiscing on my first love reminded me of Jesus telling the church, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love,” Revelations 2:4.
A church, like people can love something more than Christ. The church can love the building more than it loves Jesus; its history and traditions more than it loves Jesus; its worship songs more than it loves Jesus; its programs and missions more than it loves Jesus; the fellowship or love of the lost more than it loves Jesus.
Consider why the church was created. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:13-14: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
Consider why humans were created. Isaiah 43:6-7 says “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
So the purpose for all God’s creation is for the fulfilling of His glory, is it not? Jesus tells the church rendering your first love will channel your focus on results rather than the Messiah. Focusing on the program and not the Precious Lamb will put us in danger.
But focusing on Christ, our first love takes care of how great the program does, how effective the mission will be. When we are engulfed with our first love, we can’t help but talk on and on about our love. Worshiping fuels the mission. You can’t brag on and praise God if you neglect the first love of Christ.
When I worship the Father I am reflecting on the glory of God, valuing Christ above all things. My first love with Christ was through music. He touched me like no other before and continues to use music to minister to my heart, to touch me, feel me, move mountains, cast out fear by me opening my mouth blessing and praising His name.
My first love helped me in my lowest point, when I didn’t have anyone to understand me, when I didn’t have anyone else to talk to, when I thought I lost my mind, on my face in a pool of tears, the redeemer, the restorer, the reviver came in my heart rescued me when I had no one else feeling lost and empty. I would sing out Jesus, Jesus and he gave me sanity, He kept me safe and continues to revive me.
What is your first love? When did you first hear His voice, feel His presence, tremble at His touch? Maybe you have gone astray? Became faint in your worship? Possibly you focused on the things you have, focus on the places you go or don’t get to go. Perhaps you became consumed with being in a church that has everything you want except the presence of God?
Remember what worship is, acting and thinking in a way that reflects the glory of God. When we let go of our first love it says in Revelations 2:5 that the lampstand will be removed. There will no longer be light shining, just acting without glorifying God.
What are you promoting? What are your eyes fixed on this morning, this day, these weeks and month to come? Are you sharing the love of God with others or sharing your problems? Are you showing how deep God’s love is or how deep in debt you are? Have you lost your first love? Have you stop going to the church that helps you grow in your faith?
Consider not abandoning your first love. Ask God to forgive you for letting Him go. Call upon God to forgive you for satisfying temptations and not satisfying Him. Pray to God to keep you strong in your faith, to keep you active in going to church, going to Bible study, going to be taught the Word. For “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God,” Revelation 2:7.
I would look around at my peers wondering, “Do they feel what I feel?” I would say, “I am cold” and they would laugh saying, “it is hot.” The day came that the choir director would appoint me to sing a solo and again thinking to myself “no one wants to hear me.”
I sang Till We Meet Again and a rush of chills consumed my body at the age of 17, still not knowing His presence. I thought, I can’t do this, I can’t even control myself. I went to college singing, still not knowing His presence. As an adult after many years of being removed from singing, I attempted to join the choir and tears flowed as a river. I knew His presence and I welcomed it but still couldn’t control my emotions.
Reminiscing on my first love reminded me of Jesus telling the church, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love,” Revelations 2:4.
A church, like people can love something more than Christ. The church can love the building more than it loves Jesus; its history and traditions more than it loves Jesus; its worship songs more than it loves Jesus; its programs and missions more than it loves Jesus; the fellowship or love of the lost more than it loves Jesus.
Consider why the church was created. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:13-14: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
Consider why humans were created. Isaiah 43:6-7 says “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
So the purpose for all God’s creation is for the fulfilling of His glory, is it not? Jesus tells the church rendering your first love will channel your focus on results rather than the Messiah. Focusing on the program and not the Precious Lamb will put us in danger.
But focusing on Christ, our first love takes care of how great the program does, how effective the mission will be. When we are engulfed with our first love, we can’t help but talk on and on about our love. Worshiping fuels the mission. You can’t brag on and praise God if you neglect the first love of Christ.
When I worship the Father I am reflecting on the glory of God, valuing Christ above all things. My first love with Christ was through music. He touched me like no other before and continues to use music to minister to my heart, to touch me, feel me, move mountains, cast out fear by me opening my mouth blessing and praising His name.
My first love helped me in my lowest point, when I didn’t have anyone to understand me, when I didn’t have anyone else to talk to, when I thought I lost my mind, on my face in a pool of tears, the redeemer, the restorer, the reviver came in my heart rescued me when I had no one else feeling lost and empty. I would sing out Jesus, Jesus and he gave me sanity, He kept me safe and continues to revive me.
What is your first love? When did you first hear His voice, feel His presence, tremble at His touch? Maybe you have gone astray? Became faint in your worship? Possibly you focused on the things you have, focus on the places you go or don’t get to go. Perhaps you became consumed with being in a church that has everything you want except the presence of God?
Remember what worship is, acting and thinking in a way that reflects the glory of God. When we let go of our first love it says in Revelations 2:5 that the lampstand will be removed. There will no longer be light shining, just acting without glorifying God.
What are you promoting? What are your eyes fixed on this morning, this day, these weeks and month to come? Are you sharing the love of God with others or sharing your problems? Are you showing how deep God’s love is or how deep in debt you are? Have you lost your first love? Have you stop going to the church that helps you grow in your faith?
Consider not abandoning your first love. Ask God to forgive you for letting Him go. Call upon God to forgive you for satisfying temptations and not satisfying Him. Pray to God to keep you strong in your faith, to keep you active in going to church, going to Bible study, going to be taught the Word. For “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God,” Revelation 2:7.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Just Like My Daddy
After my parents divorced, I was told, “You are just like your daddy.” I would get a stare as if I was the scum of the earth and feel far from warm within my own family. As a teenager I would make remarks, look a certain way or even stand a certain way only to hear, “You are just like your daddy.” The interesting thing is I could not stand to hear that as a child. As I have developed into a woman hearing I am like my Daddy is not such a bad thing.
In Matthew it states, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect,” 5:48.
Naturally, many strive for perfection;however, it is in God we are made perfect. The previous verses 43-47 are advising us to love our enemies and bless those that curse us. Human relationship is connected to perfection. How we treat others unveils our perfection as our heavenly Father.
Have you ever wondered, if your life would be better if he or she was not in it? Maybe you have thought, "My life would be perfect if..." Did you ever wish you had a different boss, child, parent or maybe spouse? What if God thought such way of us? I am so happy God did not opt to not have you and me in His life for He would not continuously work on us. Yet it is through our relationship with the people He allows in our life that we are able to get through and be perfected in Christ. As we grow in our relationship with the Father we begin to look more and more just like our heavenly daddy.
Consider you as a walking light of God displaying peace and love to others. Pray to God to show Christ to others through you. Allow the Lord to let others come to know Christ by the love you display and not hate. For God perfects us through relationships, so we can be perfect just like our Father.
In Matthew it states, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect,” 5:48.
Naturally, many strive for perfection;however, it is in God we are made perfect. The previous verses 43-47 are advising us to love our enemies and bless those that curse us. Human relationship is connected to perfection. How we treat others unveils our perfection as our heavenly Father.
Have you ever wondered, if your life would be better if he or she was not in it? Maybe you have thought, "My life would be perfect if..." Did you ever wish you had a different boss, child, parent or maybe spouse? What if God thought such way of us? I am so happy God did not opt to not have you and me in His life for He would not continuously work on us. Yet it is through our relationship with the people He allows in our life that we are able to get through and be perfected in Christ. As we grow in our relationship with the Father we begin to look more and more just like our heavenly daddy.
Consider you as a walking light of God displaying peace and love to others. Pray to God to show Christ to others through you. Allow the Lord to let others come to know Christ by the love you display and not hate. For God perfects us through relationships, so we can be perfect just like our Father.
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